Safe or armor plate



(No Model.) v W. H. MELANEY.

\ SAFE 0R ARMOR PLATE.

No.'397,928. Patented Feb. 19, 1889.,

N. manna Phmoiiihogr ghur, Washington. 0. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

XVILLIAH H. llIELANEY, OF PITTSBURG, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT C. TOTTEN, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFE OR ARMOR PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,928, dated February 19, 1889. Application filed June 9, 1888. Serial No. 276,584. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known. that I, VILLIAM ll. MELANEY, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safe or Armor Plates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Y My invention relates to plates used in safes or vaults to prevent penetration by drillingtools, or as armor-plates to protect vessels, marine and other batteries, &c., from the pen etration by projectiles.

In safes or vaults it is well known that the most desirable quality in the walls of the safe or vault to render it burglar-proof is a metal which will resist drilling by such tools as the ordinary burglar can carry and employ within a period of, say, forty hours, which is practically the longest time at which any work can be continuously applied to a safe, while at the same time it is necessary that the walls of the safe be of sufficient strength to resist all blows or jars such as they might be able to bring 2 5 upon the same, and therefore the most approved burglar-proof safes heretofore constructed have been made of plates composed of alternate layers of hard steel and soft steel or wrought-iron, these plates being generally 0 formed from ingots composed of several layers of such metals which are rolled to shape. Though cast metal has been suggested for use in connection with safes, yet in the advancement of the skill of the burglars it has 3 5 been found either to be too brittle or too easily cut, so that it could be fractured by blows, or a hole of sufficient size to introduce a cartridge could be quickly formed, and so in the manufacture of safes only wrought metal or some peculiar kind of cast metal could be employed. In plates for armoring vessels, &c., many different kinds of armorplates have been employed or suggested; but it has been found that wrought metal, either iron or low grades of steel, was, so far as known, best for the purpose, such metal resisting the effect of the missile without fracture, and so, though it might be bent bythe impact of the projectile, acting to give it protection, though, -as the projectile itself was often case-hardened, it is evident that a means -of resisting such projectile and preventing its penetration would add greatly to the value of the armor-plate. In some cases the hard castiron has been attempted to be used for this purpose; but as it was liable to be fractured by the impact of the projectile, and could not be so supported as to entirely prevent its being crushed by the blow, it hasnot been employed in practice to any extent.

The object of my invention is to provide a safe or armor plate or block which will eombine in it the advantages of the extremelyhard surface or substance to resist the cutting of the same by any drilling-tool, as for safe-plates, or the impact of any projectile, as for armor-plates, while at the sane time this facing is firmly united to and supported by a backing or body of metal which has sufiicient strength and toughness to resist all the jars or blows, and therefore can by its strength and tenacity support the hard surface united thereto; and to this end my invention consists, generally stated, in a safe or armor plate having a body of steel and a facing of chilled castiron united thereto by fusion.

It also consists in this plate formed in sections connected by interlocking joints, which are formed of or in the steel body of the plate or block, so that a proper means of uniting the several sections is provided in the strong or tenacious part of the plate or block, and therefore the several sections can be firmly held together and any size or shape of safe or armoring for vessels, &c., be built up therefrom.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a block or plate for safe purposes. Fig. 2 is a side view of a section of plate for armoring purposes, and Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the building up of the plates in a safe.

Like letters of reference indicatelike parts in each.

My improved plates or sectional blocks for safe or vault purposes are formed with the body a of steeland thefacing b of chilled IOO cast-iron, the body and facing being of any proper thickness, according to the desire of the safe-builder; but in large vaults or safes a block well suited for the purpose being 5 formed about two feet long, one foot wide, and

six inches thick, and the block having its outer face, 1), formed of chilled east-iron, which is united to the body a by fusion, so that this chilled cast-iron facing 1) forms practically one mass with the steel body a. The body a of the block or plate is generally made of lowgrade steel, in order to obtain all the desired tensile or transverse strength to sustain jars or blows to which it may be subjected, and

for that purpose I prefer to employ steel which is as tough and strong as possible, and

I include under the term steel a steel or iron as low or free from carbon as can be properly melted and east within a mold. The

chilled castiron facing is made of a certain grade of cast-iron which chills when coming in cont-act with the metallic surface within the mold adapted to chill or rapidly congeal the same, and in so chilling becomes practically so hard that but few tools will cut it, and

the drilling thereof is a very slow and tedious process. The block or plate therefore unites in it a tough and strong body, together with a facing thereon which is adapted to re- 0 sist the action of all cutting or drilling tools,

this facing being sohard that when formed,

as generally desired, of a thickness of about one inch to one and one-half inch it would require a week or more to drill through the facing on the steel plate or block with the ordinary hand drilling-tools.

My improved plate or block safes can be built up in any desired manner, and can be connected in any way considered desirable by the manufacturer, that shown in the drawings being well suited for the purpose namely, a dovetail connection at the top and bottom of the block, (and, if desired, on the side edges of the blocks,) by which the several blocks or plates can be united, such a dovetail projection being shown at c, and a dovetail recess to receive the same being shown at (Z, these dovetails being formed of and in the steel portion of the plate or block to obtain the desired strength, and being such that theedges of the plates can be drawn so close together that no opportunity forthe entrance of a wedge or like tool is afforded. Instead of the dovetail connection, a tongue-and-groove or other suitable interlocking joint may be used, the essential feature being that the joint is formed in the steel portion orbody of the block or plate. These blocks or plates may be built up in vaults or safes either as the outer plate, or, as is preferred by me, as a backing within the safe beyond an outer solid plate of sufficient size to protect and cover all the joints between the sections, as shown at f, Fig. 3. ll'hen such an outer plate is employed in building up the vault or safe, though the outer plate maybe penetrated by the tools, yet it acts to protect the blocks and prevent access to any of the joints between the sections, while any drilling-tool employed to penetrate the outer plate is checked by the chilled cast'iron facing on my improved plate or block, so that all such attempts to drill through the wall of the safe are rendered futile. At the same time as my improved blocks or plates are composed almost entirely of low tough-steel body, and where the interlocking connectionssuch as suggestedor other suitable connection is employed between the blocks, such connections being made in the tough-steel portion of the block or plate, it is evident that all attemps to shatter by heavy blows the body of the safe, and thus obtain access thereto, would be rendered futile.

\Vhere my improved plates are employed as armor-plates for armoring vessels and such purposes, they are formed of substantially the same construction, though the means for securing them to the body of the vessel maybe varied, according to the means found best adapted to secure in place such heavy bodies of metal, there being many different means for supporting the armor-plates on the vessel and uniting them so as to enable them to resist the blows or impact of an y projectile. In the plate shown in the drawings the plate is intended to be secured to the vessel by means of bolts passin gthrou gh bolt-holes e, the outer ends of which are made outwardly flaring, so that the bolt can thus obtain a hold upon the plate without its head projecting beyond the surface thereof, and these bolt-holes extend entirely through the body of the plate. lYhere, however, it is desired to connect the several plates, a dovetail connection, such as that shown, can also be employed. In such plates the tough body a is of such strength and tenacity that it will resist without breaking or fracturing the great impact, pressure, or jar from the missile or projectile, and so will protect the body of the vessel, the force of the blow,if brought directly upon the plate, simply acting to slightly bend the same, while the deeppenetration of the plate by the projectile is prevented by the chilled face, the plate thus retaining all the advantages of the iron or steel plates now employed on account of the toughness and strength of its body, and at the same time its power to resist penetration being very largely increased by the chilled cast-iron facing b, which is so hard as to resist the blow of the hardened metal employed in such projectile and minimize the effect thereof on the armoring of the vessel. It has also the fur ther advantage that in case the impact of the projectile is not directly against the plate, but its blow is at an angle, the hard metal of the chilled cast-iron facing will act to more perfectly deflect the projectile and prevent its penetrative action on the armor of the vessel. If the blow of the projectile is so great as to cause the bending of: the body of the armor-plate, as the chilled cast-iron facing is united to said plate by fusion, it is evident that instead of said hard outer facing being crushed and broken off the chilled cast-iron facing will hold to the body of the plate,fand consequently the outer hard facing of the armoring will be preserved, this action of the chilled cast-iron facing in connection with the steel body of the box or plate having been fully proven under the severest tests.

In forming my improved safe or armor plate I first cast within a mold of suitable shape, which it is not necessary to show, the chilling cast-iron of suitable quality regulated by the mixture of iron, as is known to those skilled in the manufacture of such articles, this chill ing cast-iron coming in contact with the surface of the mold-chill within the mold and being rapidly chilled and congealed thereby, and subsequently I cast within the mold the molten steel of proper quality which will unite with the heated surface of the chilling east-iron, and by fusion form a perfect union between the steel and the chilled castiron facing. In forming the safe or arm or plate I may either cast the same with the mold-chill in the upper or side portions of the mold, or at the base thereof, and in the former case I fill the mold entirely with the molten castiron, so that the molten castiron will in this mannerbe brought in contact with the surface of the mold-chill and will be chilled thereby, and in the latter case I intro duce only approximatelysuch a portion of castiron within the mold as will form the necessary facing of chilled castiron thereon, and in either case subsequently to the introduction of the cast-iron into the mold I feed thereto the molten steel, the steel, on account of its greater specific gravity, driving out all the molten or unchilled cast-iron remaining within the mold, and so comingin contact with the inner surface of the chilled facing therein and firmly uniting therewith by fusion in such way that the two metals cannot be separated even by the severest blows. In the first case the body of the mold is filled with the body of cast-iron, and the unchilled portion is floated off therefrom by the molten steel, and in the second case if any unchilled or molten cast-iron re mains within the mold this is floated out in the same manner by the molten steel, the mold being provided with suitable escape-runners in the upper portion thereof, so that all the molten'cast-iron may escape from the mold. In forn'iing my improved plate for armor purposes, or in some cases for safe purposes, suitable sand cores may be employed for the formation of the bolt-holes in the plate; or, if desired, the bolts themselves may be inserted within the mold before the casting operation, and may be united to the steel body of the casting, the necessity of their extending through the outer chilled-iron facing being overcome.

I am thus enabled to provided a block or plate which can be formed by casting, and which contains all the desirable features of the ordinary safe or armor plates, and at the same time a much harder face having the highest properties for resisting cutting or drilling tools or projectiles, and as the plate is cast it can be formed to any desired shape and at a much lower price than the ordinary wroughtanetal plates employed for the same purposes.

\V hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As a new article of manufacture, a safe or armor plate having a body of steel and a facing of chilled cast-iron united thereto by fusion, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A safe or armor plate having a body of steel and a facing of chilled cast-iron united thereto by fusion, said plate being form ed in sections connected by interlocking joints formed of and in the steel body of the plate, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said VVILLIAM II. MELANEY, have hereunto set my hand.

IVILLIAM II. MELANEY. lVitnesses:

J. N. OooKE, RoBr. I). TOTTEN. 

